A Cold Nightmare
by Eullie
Summary: Sandy pays Jack a visit at Burgess after the latter vows to be a Guardian, but before the two can meet something happens to Jack...
1. Chapter 1: Visited

It was a fine night. Moments ago a fiery sunset had graced the horizon and faded away as an invitation to the dark night sky. The town of Burgess had grown quiet and all had retreated to their homes, now all that could be heard was the hush of the wind. Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun, had waved his last goodbye to Jamie and Sophie through the former's bedroom window. They had played in the snow with their friends for hours, laughing and giggling as the snowball fights went on and on. However, as the night had settled in the temperature dropped and it became unsuitable for young kids to play in the dark. Now Jamie was tucked warm in his bed reading a bedtime story to his younger sister, Sophie. She chuckled as he spoke and waved back to Jack as he turned to leave.

"Jack! Bye Jack!"

A cold wind blew across the window, and the immortal teen was gone. Jack directed the wind to propel him across the town and towards the lake, at the corner of his eyes he could see golden sand sifting its way down from the skies. The teen immortal smiled, it was Sandy's turn to spread joy to children…through dreams.

What he didn't expect was to see the Sandman hovering in a cloud of sand _in _Burgess. Apparently he wanted to visit Jack while doing his duties but... that was ridiculous!, Jack thought. Yet that was just why the Guardian of Dreams was there, he would be sure to wave at the first sight of white hair and a blue hoodie. Sure, Sandy worked around the clock, whole world of kids to put to sleep, remember? But that didn't mean that he shouldn't take time to visit the newest Guardian. However, there was a lot of dreamsand to distribute, the elder Guardian had silently hoped that the newbie would just pop up and say hi, instead of searching for the boy himself. He kept a close eye, scanning for the slightest trace of white hair, the previously darkened town had now lightened up because of the glowing sand that sifted through the homes and rooms of children.

After a while, Sandy felt a tug on one of the threads of dreamsand he had made. On the other side, Jack had jumped up toward the golden line of sand and disturbed it slightly. The sand dispersed, then formed into a Border Collie, it ran around playfully in the air and wagging its tail at Jack before sprinting its way to the child that was dreaming of it. Jack laughed at its cheerful run towards its "master", turning around he could see Sandy waving happily at him from the dream cloud, the Dream Guardian was still busy giving good dreams through threads of sand…smiling all the while, yet it was obvious that his route was bound towards Jack. The boy smiled shyly while waiting for the cloud to arrive with his friend. He flew down to the roof of a house and walked over slowly while swinging his staff, he didn't want to make too much wind by flying, he worried that it might disturb Sandy's dreamsand.

"I wonder what he's here for...", he pondered to himself. He didn't feel particularly important, so it must have to be something that Sandy wanted to address…not like he ever talks; instead of speaking, Sandy created images out of sand to portray what he needed to say. It took a lot of guessing and catching up on Jack's part because Sandy often made too many images all at once. But he was kind of getting better at understanding Sandy's way of communication, which was good.

Distracted by his thoughts, Jack slipped on one of the roof tiles and lost balance, instinctively he gripped his staff tighter focusing in his mind to let the wind help him regain balance. And for the strangest reason, it didn't work.

"What the-…Aaaahuhmf!"

He fell over and landed face first on a heap of snow, staff held tightly. He quickly got up and sat cross-legged, eyes focusing on his staff. His hands turned it around gently, it looked normal frost-covered and all, and when he concentrated a bolt of ice shot up from the tip.

"Hmm," he mumbled with a raised brow, " guess it was just a malfunction."

Jack brushed off any more thoughts and stood up. A few yards away, Sandy was still busy; apparently he hadn't noticed the screw-up, which Jack was thankful for. Jack held his staff confidently, closed his eyes and focused, prepared to have himself lifted off the ground. No more walking, he thought.

Except that nothing happened.

He opened his eyes in disbelief and then shock as a Nightmare faced him. It grunted, as if annoyed and stood up on its hind legs preparing to crush the boy with the force of its hooves. Jack backed away in shock, a breath escaped from his mouth. His staff refused to work. The Nightmare neighed angrily and stomped down on the currently powerless Jack Frost.

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**Heya, guys! This is my first fan fiction, ever! Please be nice, I'm super nervous. I hope this is okay and not too boring. Reviews are appreciated! This is supposedly just a few chapters long so if you have any feedback, it would really motivate me to finish this early…or maybe make the story a bit longer…?**


	2. Chapter 2: Attacked

The demonic horse lunged at Jack, transforming into a slender thread of coarse black sand whilst dragging the spirit through the streets. It circled and twisted around the immortal, lifting him from the ground and blowing him backwards as it stretched seemingly towards the frozen lake. The slightest feeling of dark sand brushing past his skin instilled fear in the teen's cobalt blue eyes.

"S-," his voice was reduced to a gasp of fear rather than the shout he had planned to make.

"Sa-", he reached out a hand as he was being pulled farther away from the Guardian he wished to call…his voice was manipulated by fear…it wouldn't come out, yet as fear gripped him harder, the more he struggled harder to be heard, the hostile sand was quickly wrapping itself around his right arm where he was holding his staff stubbornly. Being surrounded by darkness, it was while fighting back the indescribable horror he felt that he knew that it must have been like this too…that time…

The golden Guardian felt disturbed, the cold hush of the wind that lulled children to their peaceful slumber had stopped abruptly. All there was still air. Of course this meant something bad, the short yet wise Guardian wasn't assuming the worst when he glanced over to the roof Jack was walking on. No one was there. His look of puzzlement was overshadowed by a wide gape of fear as his attention was quickly drawn to Jack being whisked through the streets by familiar opaque particles.

Sandy wasted no time to give chase, his face deformed in a pained and panicky expression, mouth wide open as if in a silent scream. He threw out his arms to summon two glistening whips that stretched and snapped at the opposing sand. The floating matter promptly scattered, dropping Jack on the ground… but it didn't disappear.

Jack sat on the snow-covered street, gasping for breath as he clutched at his chest. He could hear his voice as he breathed in and out rapidly, shakily trying to get up with his staff and other hand, but only managing to stumble forward as Sandy quickly descended to support him. The short man glanced up at him worriedly, behind them the sand was starting to reform.

The white haired boy shook his staff, confused and frustrated that it wasn't responding to his thoughts at this crucial moment, Sandy seemed to understand the problem and nodded determinedly. The Nightmare had completely re-materialized by now, glaring at them both with its fiery yellow eyes. Sandy clenched his hands and shot back an equally angered glare, stepping in front of the junior Guardian, he was more intimidating than he was a while ago…not a jolly short man on a cloud anymore.

Triggered by Sandman's hostility, the Nightmare charged into battle. Sandy whipping out his whips and snapping them at the horse, determined to tame it back to the good dream that it originally was. If not…then oblivion was its only choice. The equine creature swiftly split in two, the one on the left jumped above the two Guardians and tromped to Jack's side.

"I'll take this one…", Jack wheezed as he grabbed his magical weapon with both hands. Sandy could feel just a bit of confidence in his voice, but he was shaking, so no. Instead of saying that out loud though, he shook his head sternly and grabbed the boy by the hoodie and blasted them off from the ground. The menacing creatures gave a quick chase upwards, streaks of black sand following their path and eating away at the pure gold sand that was used for thrust.

A chase was being held vertically, the horses of doom galloped in a circle around their targets. Sandy , however, wasn't going to let go of Jack this time, much more now that he couldn't have the wind aid him in flying. The Nightmares quickly caught up despite Sandman's efforts, Jack crossed his arms in front of him to shield himself from the sand that shot at them.

A short scream of fear and pain.

The Sandman felt it too, and he felt like his powers stopped working for a while. They lost momentum; the Nightmares took this opening to thrash them with another wave of fear, this time successfully prying Jack off of Sandy's grip. For a moment, the latter watched in fear as his comrade flailed helplessly in the air, only to be scooped up by the sand...not his sand…nightmare sand. The Nightmares acted upon this victory and charged over, forming a black whirlwind around Jack and swirling him towards the lake once again. Sandy reached desperately as Jack held out his hand in front of him.

"SANDY!"

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**And we're done with the cliffhangers- oh. I want to thank everyone who reviewed Chapter 1, I love you! I'm super inspired! I hope you're not disappointed with this chapter!**

**Ayaka helped review this before this was published VuV I dedicate this chap to her. I think I'll ask more viewers to review the beta of the next chap, I appreciate criticism and compliments alike, review this please and volunteer for future chaps maybe?**

**P.S. I'll be drawing a cover for this fic! I hope you'll like it!**


	3. Chapter 3: Trapped

As the name rang out in the air, Jack's staff flew out of the whirlwind. Sandy practically leapt to catch it as it spun recklessly out of the small storm. He caught it firmly by the middle section, worry spread over his face. He gripped the weapon tightly; closing his eyes shut in frustration and regret that he wasn't able to protect his comrade. He quickly gave chase to the swirling mass of sand. The Nightmares are going to face a very determined Guardian.

As he clutched at the memento, he felt stronger at heart. Yet it was lifeless. Whenever Jack held it, the piece of wood was always adorned by frost and would even glow a bright blue at certain circumstances. Now it was completely inanimate, like a normal piece of wood. Sandy couldn't use it, no one could, only Jack Frost- its sole owner. The Guardian knew that Jack would need it…even though it wasn't working properly at the moment. That and the constant fluctuation of his own powers set a red alarm in his head. What was going on?

Meanwhile the black sand had reached the frozen lake, drilling into the ice and dragging its captive into the water. There was a loud splash as Jack was forcefully pushed underwater. The cold liquid filled his ears. Above he could faintly see the moon-lighted ice turning black. Then darkness.

Sandy watched as the lake was covered up, it horrified him that the small basin where Jack used to happily play in, the place of his rebirth, where he felt most at home… was completely enclosed in nightmare sand. He knew how it felt to be overwhelmed by Pitch's black sand. Being shot in the back by the mutated form of his own creation and losing to it…was an unpleasant experience. He had to pull the immortal out of there quickly. Because he knew what it was like. The helplessness he felt when his dream cloud crumbled and his powers were weakened by the fear that had spread all over his body. It was _terrifying_. If it weren't for the belief of the children the Sandman never would have been revived…he wouldn't have been pulled out of that endless darkness. Sandy couldn't let Jack go through that. Because no one deserves to live in fear...or die in fear.

The Dream Guardian felt responsible for the creation of Nightmares. It was his dreamsand after all. From dreams that lighted everyone's hearts to monsters that inflicted horror. It did not feel good at all…it did not feel good to know that his powers were manipulated for evil.

His sworn duty was to protect the dreams of children. Yet he couldn't save every dream. Perhaps the biggest weight on his shoulders was that he failed to guard those dreams that had become Nightmares. He worked harder ever since then to be the Guardian he was meant to be, determined to set things right this time. Whenever he could turn a bad dream back into a good one, a big smile sprouted right up his bright face. For if there were less good dreams than bad, hope would dwindle. Every single element or emotion that the Guardians protected affected the other, they needed each other, and therefore they protected one another like how a family would. Even their newest teammate, the Guardian of Fun, was just as important. And now that he was part of their family there wasn't any chance they would leave him behind. Never again. He recalled that everyone had promised to spend time with the boy. Sandy volunteered first, cheerily waving his hand when they first discussed it, and then they all nodded and agreed who would go next and what else could be done. The Guardians decided upon making the shift slow and natural, they wanted Jack Frost to know that he wasn't alone anymore, but not overwhelm him with too much affection.

It had only been a few seconds since the ice had been covered yet another Nightmare had already reformed on the surface. His face dropped, feeling sadness, anger, and frustration.

_That used to be a good dream._

He looked up at the moon letting out a deep yet silent sigh.

He then dove down to face the irritated beast while studying its eyes. Every Nightmare had golden eyes, yes, a trace of its original form. To the Sandman those weren't evil glowing eyes, but lights of hope. Seeing that glimmer always gave him hope that, instead of being destroyed, it could still be restored. He never actually told anyone this but whenever a dream was shattered…good or bad, he felt hurt, because a part of him was dead. He didn't want that. He wanted to bring it back to the dream it was before it became evil.

The powerful dream creator thrust his hand forward; it was up to the galloping figure whether it was a meant as a sign to stop and back away or charge onward. The dark horse chose the latter, more of its kind materialized from behind and followed suit. Holding Jack's staff in one hand, he prepared to fight through the beasts. The glow of his sand seemed to dim.

"You're afraid to loose these dreams.", Sandy felt a voice say in the back of his head.

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**Did it ever occur to you that Sandy felt remorse for the Nightmares? Because I noticed how angry he looked when Pitch showed him the black sand. So I wrote out what I thought he felt. Not as exciting as the last two chaps, more of explaining. Sorry that this update took longer!**

**P.S. Finished the cover pic! It's so tiny you can hardly see the details I put…full pic is linked on my profile if anyone's interested.**


	4. Chapter 4: Saved

The menacing creatures galloped onward, as they closed in on each other Sandy could sense that these were Jack's Nightmares…they sensed his fears. This shocked him to a certain extent; there were still some things the new Guardian wasn't telling them, he knew that, but still…

Sandy stretched his left hand in front, staff held on the other. He just _believed _that clutching at the thing could make things better. It was one thing he made sure to do, it was to have faith in the power of others, and it really helped a lot when Pitch got him…the belief of the children had guided him out of that darkness. He hoped to do the same for the white-haired boy trapped under the ice.

Bright golden sand sprayed outward as the first Nightmare came in contact with the Sandman. A set of white, shiny teeth peaked its way through Sandy's victorious smile. The yellow dreamsand spread and swiftly twirled into threads, embracing the lake in a comforting light. The other Nightmares, although initially shocked, continued to charge. He looks down at the creatures with pity holding up a finger in front of his mouth as if silently saying "Shhhh" and then gently pats the head of the first horse. The next thing that happened took the golden guardian by surprise, this time the broken dream burst into a bunch of gold snowflakes, well… an imitation of snowflakes. He wondered what dreams the other Nightmares used to be, there was something Sandy needed to do quickly, and it was to restore all of them.

What was seconds above felt like hours below. Jack was conscious. He could feel himself sinking as the cold water surrounded him. The black sand had shot upward to cover the crack in the ice, shielding the remaining light of hope the moon had to offer. He was alone. And he felt empty.

Jack kept his hands close to his chest, how he felt so powerless without his staff. There he was again, under the ice…_scared_. History has a habit of repeating itself.

This was where he died. Once.

The mixed emotions from the last day of his old life overwhelmed him. Saving his sister…bringing her skates…hearing her call his name for the last time…the memories brought him joy, pain, and regret.

Everything felt so detailed that day, as if it were only yesterday. The sound of the ice cracking under their feet. His determination to reach out to her when she needed him the most. The calm voice he tried to muster while he panicked on what to do. The last laugh they shared together. At first he was ecstatic over remembering the important memories of his previous life. At least the last thing he did was protect her. He couldn't imagine what happened after he was gone. She must have gotten over his death one day…Jack didn't know whether to feel hurt or relieved when he thought about it. He only hoped that she got to live out her dreams.

At that time when he fell in, all he felt was worry for his sister. Sure, he wasn't the best big brother in the world, but he always wanted to make her laugh…and have fun with her. He'd never get tired of the snowball fights and tricks. He wondered whatever happened after that, after he was revived by the Man in the Moon and learning how to use the staff as a magic amplifier. Did they quickly move on with their lives? Or did they mourn for days? He wasn't sure whether he wanted to know or not.

"…There will always be fear."

He realized that he was being too afraid of what has already happened in the past instead of focusing on what was happening now.

"So what? As long as one child believes…we will be here to fight fear."

_Ah, yes…_

When their enemy declared that fear would always remain, the immortal knew it was true, and it made him confused. For a while he was at a loss for words, unable to disagree. But North knew just what to say. He smiled at the older Guardian in admiration. After the whole scenario with Pitch settled down, Jack knew what his purpose was and so chose to become a guardian. It was their duty to protect the children of the world, and to spread wonder, hope, dreams, and now…fun.

_I'm gonna play snowball with Jamie, and show Sandy how to do surfboard tricks in the air, and definitely check out the toys at the factory…definitely._

Although all that the boy could see was pitch black he made up his mind. He struggled in the water, even if he couldn't see he tried to head upward…or what felt like upward anyway. Suddenly, a faint light started to glow, it felt so warm and gentle as it glowed brighter and reached farther. As its radiance continually pierced through the thick ice, he began to push his way toward it by flapping his arms up and down. At that moment he felt a strong sense tugging at him… calling him.

Jack's eyes brightened has he realized it was Sandy, a determined expression covered his face. The Guardian could sense the feeling of someone _believing _in him. He felt stronger and confident, ignoring the increasing need for air in his lungs. Being an immortal, he wasn't going to die, but he'd rather not give Sandy the courtesy of fishing him out of the bottom of the lake.

The darkness above being eaten by the light could give anyone hope, but the ice was thick, then thought of getting out the way he came in, the hole he was dragged in through was still there, the nightmare sand actually only covered it to prevent his escape. It only took a while to find, the black sand was all gone when he reached his hand through the gap. Two small hands pulled him up from the water; he gasped the cold air around him, and then repeatedly took deeper breaths. Sandy brought him over to a sturdier layer of ice. The golden guardian looked at him relieved and patted his back while giving his friend a thumbs up, he picked up the boy's staff from the ground (where he had left it for a while) and presented it proudly to its owner. Jack's face seemed to lighten up at the sight of it, he held onto his only possession with both hands. "Thanks, Sandy, I owe you." He breathed out, nearly in a whisper, yet in a genuinely thankful tone. He smiled at his friend. "Thank you for believing in me", his voice was a bit clearer now.

Sandy nodded with a genuine smile. He suddenly remembered to show Jack the reconverted dreams. He conjured up a ball of sand with his hands, much like in a way one would make a snowball, and playfully threw it at the air in front of them, where Jack could see. The ball of sand landed on the ice before them, its particles scattered to simulate the form of two children playing in the snow, throwing rounds at each other and falling over. One child was a small girl while the other was a tall, slim boy. Jack laughed in delight at the sight, the memories flooding into his brain. A small thread of sand floated its way to him, confirming that the dream really was his.

_"Think fast!", Jack chuckled as he threw a rather small snowball at his sister._

_"Ahahaha!", the young girl with shoulder-length hair laughed as she crossed her arms in front of her face to block the snowball, "Hey, that was a trick!"_

_"What part of the rules says I can't trick you?", he questioned with a mischievous grin, which was promptly wiped off when a snowball hit his face,"Pffffft!" he sputtered while regaining balance. The short girl covered her mouth, inhaling gasps of laughter. The two siblings were inseparable, although there was an obvious difference in height and age, they looked extremely alike with their brown hair and eyes._

_"I wish we could always play like this, Jack."_

Sandy went on to show him more dreams from the sand, there were flying geese, baskets of Easter eggs, chipmunks…

Jack was fascinated, these were really, really old dreams from a long time ago.

Out of the corner of their eyes, both guardians noticed in the nick of time, a lone Nightmare charging down at them. Its strong hooves cracked the ice. Jack backed away in shock, clutching his weapon tightly. There was a little bit of hesitance, then he felt a surge of power spread along the wooden stick. Seeing that Jack's staff was finally working in the right hands, Sandy stepped in front.

As it came closer Jack realized what it came for. In his life as a human, he did everything he could to distract others from their fears. But he had his own insecurities and weaknesses too. He was afraid to lose his sister, his family, people he loved. The memory was hazy, but he remembered that back then things weren't as safe as they were now, they were dark times. After his memories were wiped off, the nightmares no longer haunted him. But when he remembered, it was time to face them again.

"You were my very first nightmare…", he breathed out.

Sandy looked over at Jack for a moment, processing what he just said. This thing…was from his past? From before his immortal days? It both saddened and relieved him to know this, that he couldn't protect Jack's dreams when he was a child but he was reassured to know that the current Jack wasn't having any doubts or fears.

The dark creature attacked, Jack sent a bolt of ice its way and Sand lashed his whip at it. It neighed in pain and anger yet sped forward at a faster rate. Both jumped away, not wanting to be crushed. With their confidence back, they could now fight properly. It quickly turned around to ram them again this time sending out a slew of missile-like tendrils ahead. Both guardians had to make an effort to miss every one, it wasn't time to find out what would happen if the stuff hit them, being near the nightmarish sand was frightening enough. It took their combined efforts keep each other safe from the initial attack. Jack wasn't going to let this go on any longer, flying up in the air he shot another blow at the Nightmare, no longer afraid. Now with its complete attention, he swooped downward placing his cold and pale hand on the animal's forehead. "I'm not afraid anymore, it was all in the past," he spoke with the creature seriously, "I'm moving on." Frost and dreamsand began to spread upon the creature, completely covering the mare before it shatters to bright floating particles.

The two guardians smile at each other. Sandy sighs in relief quietly floating over. Jack decided to sit on the ice as he looked up at the falling sand, it was much like how his own snow descended gracefully without a sound. They kept the silence until the last piece had fallen.

"So…uh…what were you here for?", the younger guardian questioned.

Sandy awkwardly averted his gaze, what was he here for again? Oh, right, right…to spend time with him. Sandy patted the boy's shoulder, looked at him really deep, and pointed a finger at him with the other hand.

Jack's eyes widened, "For me…?", his voice was shocked and unbelieving," What'd I do? Is there something I did?"

Sandy shook his head so fast his head may have come off. Instead of trying to portray anything, he made himself a small floating cloud out of his own sand, much like a hand-made cushion, and sat on it comfortably beside Jack. His hand never left its spot on the 300-year-old boy's shoulder.

"Oh," he smiled shyly, scratching the back of his neck. The Sandman made an "ok" sign. He then crafted a miniature horse with his magic sand and raised his shoulders in a questioning gesture.

Jack sighed. "They were…my old fears. You know, back when I was a human?" He looked at Sandy expectantly, hoping that he would understand. The other nodded a mix of worry and relief colored on his expression. "I was scared, to lose everything I had, everyone I loved…", he explained further," I just wanted to have fun." The immortals sat in silence. "But that's over now", Jack stood up stretching his legs, "I promise, I won't let it happen again."

He understood why the Man in the Moon resurrected him, giving him a second chance in life. Granted, it took him hundreds of years to realize his purpose, but here he was now with a new family and a role to spread joy in the hearts and minds of children.

"I'm not afraid anymore," he swung his staff over his shoulder, "I've got you guys."

Sandy floated beside him, smiling proudly as they walked back up to the little town. The two communicated more than words, knowing each other's thoughts although never spoken.

_We'll always be here for you._

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**And we have our last chapter! Sorry for the wait, guys. Tell me what you think, and thank you for all your previous reviews!**


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